True Detective | Season 2 Episode 2 Recap: Night Finds You

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Knives out! This week’s TRUEDETECTIVE podcast will hit you like a shotgun blast to the gut! Or the nether regions! Or somewhere else very unpleasant and at close range!

Yeah, bad week for Ray Velcoro, but great week for Post Show Recaps. Once again, Josh Wigler (@roundhoward) joins forces with Antonio Mazzaro (@acmazzaro) and Jeremiah Panhorst (@jpanhorst) to stop down and examine the mystery at the heart of TRUEDETECTIVE season two. This week’s episode, called “Night Finds You,” is a grim affair for Colin Farrell’s hard-drinking City of Vinci detective, who ends the hour with a front row look at a new interpretation of Birdman. Meanwhile, we find out more about Vince Vaughn’s Frank Semyon and his financial woes, Rachel McAdams’ Ani Bezzerides and her secret stash of knives, and Taylor Kitsch’s Paul Woodrugh and his dark past.

Let us know what you think of this week’s podcast in the comments below, and send in questions for next time using our feedback form.

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Josh Wigler is an entertainment journalist who covers Survivor, Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead and other popular TV shows for The Hollywood Reporter. He's the co-author of The Evolution of Strategy, creator of First One Out, host of Post Show Recaps and The Wiggle Room, and occasional Wanda Shirk impersonator.
He once interviewed Kermit the Frog about The Avengers and The Hunger Games, and hung out with Daryl Dixon and Ted the teddy bear during New Year's... so, you know, he's kind of a big deal. Follow Josh on Twitter @roundhoward.

Antonio Mazzaro is a Kentuckian, Lawyer, and Radio/TV/Film graduate of Northern Kentucky University--but he would love it if you didn't hold any of those things against him. Antonio's covered shows including Breaking Bad for Post Show Recaps, and Jack Benny, My Morning Jacket, and the Cincinnati Bearcats are a few of his favorite things. The TV character he would most like to emulate is his hero, Mr. Rogers. Follow Antonio on Twitter: @acmazzaro.

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I cannot believe how utterly bad this season is. The story is so convoluted and uninteresting, as are the characters and the case itself. Vince Vaughn is playing this guy terribly, although he has terrible lines to work with. Who cares if ____ dies after this cliffhanger. Too much shock for shock value.

Rubicon

So is everyone in agreement that at some point during this season Bezzerides uses those knives on someone?

1. How dark is too dark? So far watching this feels like an 8 hour Noir film. However even in Film Noir there is an accompanying sense of seductiveness and masking the dark undebelly of the story with glitz, glamour, and hope. This is just straight up dark for every second of every scene.

2. There’s gotta be a big backstory and some importance with that scarred waitress right? You don’t bring in a beautiful woman with a huge scar on her face to just occasionally have someone for Colin Farrell to voice his inner monologue.

3. The obvious. They surely aren’t Jon Snow-ing us right? Can anyone survive 2 close range shotgun blasts to the guts? If he survives – that’s dumb. If he’s dead – wtf?

ItsAdroit

I thought the show picked up and the ending caught me off guard. Do you guys at all think the writer/showrunner felt he needed to keep up with Game of Thrones in terms of shock value? I think I am enjoying this season more than most but this seemed like a play to get “#WTF” trending on Twitter. Also, if he is dead I’ll be dissapointed as I thought the character was the best part of the season and Colin was knocking it out of the park.

95rdd19

There are scenes in the season preview that we haven’t seen yet with Colin Farrell. Do you think those scenes were shot just to completely blindside us?

Birdman

Anyone that doesnt like this show is expecting to much out of it. So far it has been very interesting and the characters are awesome. Ani and Ray are of course the stand outs but Kitsch and Vaughn havent been bad at all either. Anyways, bullet proof vest or bean bags in that shot gun? I feel the later wouldnt make sense seeing as Vaughn’s partner was actually shot with a shot gun presumably by this same Birdman. Hopefully Ray had a vest on for whatever convoluted reason, too many more scenes with him not to mention he is in the next episode description. Thanks!

Beefcake

I don’t get the hate, either. I’m enjoying it so far.

In that last scene, Velcoro is wearing a sport coat and open collar shirt. You can see a glimpse of an undershirt. I don’t see how he could be wearing any kind of bullet proof vest.

Maybe Birdman shooting people with bean bags or rubber bullets or whatevs is part of the sexual fetish? 😉

Johnny Lopez

Are you guys getting a strong Lynch vibe? specifically both bar scenes from episodes 1 and 2 with the live music (ala blue velvet) and the way a lot of the scenes are quietly faded into each other. also the california setting along with the slowly peeling back of the seedy underbelly kind of thing. ps. vaughn’s scene where he threatens that guy was awesome im 100% in on him as this character adding that little bit of comedic swagger was what i was waiting for.

@Wharfrat1625

I noticed in the credits last night that Harrelson and McConaughey were listed as Executive Producers. Do you guys have any information about whether thats just a contract negotiation from them signing on initially or if they have any involvement in the creative process of this season?

GoT is a major reference in recent history of shows lopping off “main characters” early in the story. Do you guys feel like the show will be able to sustain interest despite the loss of Velcoro or will this choice turn out to be a poor decision as we move through the remainder of the season?

I found myself very interested in the conflicting objectives of the 3 leads in the investigation and the nuances involving the corruption, but I’m seeing more negative opinions about the heft of the episode than positive. Can the show pull off a House of Cards style web of intrigue exploring those themes, or is it over reaching?

collin

Loving the second season. for different reasons than i loved the first. it isn’t as vividly atmospheric as the first season but i don’t think anything will ever match that for vibes. loving Colin’s acting. somehow making a terrible man seem very human.

ps. chekhov’s miniature woman in a bowl of milk. obviously going to be the key that will unlock the whole plot. still waiting for a follow up on that.

Beefcake

Vince Vaughn’s character really made me appreciate my dad. Thanks for not locking me in the basement and getting eaten by rats, dad!! ::hugs::

Hey, it’s already Wednesday here, where’s our re-cap? Well anyway, I am still interested to see what will happen next in the show, but I am not even close to as intrigued as I was with season 1.

John Santucci

What was up with Frank and Ray’s bar conversation? Apoplectic? Stridency? Did they just come from a community college vocabulary improvement class? Pizzolatto’s dialogue can be a bit forced, and cause a ripple in my suspension of disbelief sometimes. Even Antonio Mazzaro doesn’t talk like that!